Controlled diversion apparatus

ABSTRACT

A hydrodynamic tow system is disclosed as including a tow cable means with a selectively positioned diverter mechanism at the distal end thereof. The diverter mechanism includes a movable control surface thereon and an actuation mechanism therefor which is connected to said tow cable and is responsive to tensional variations therein to move said control surface.

United states Patent XR 3 16 1 8 9 5 55 SR ikpibl. No.

Filed Patented Assignee Raymond E. Kelly; 1 Charles B. Jones; William P.Frost, all of Panama City, Fla

' July 6, 1970 Nov. 9, 1971 represented by the Secretary of the NavyCONTROLLED DIVERSION APPARATUS 10 Claims, 6 Drawing Figs.

US. 114/235 B Field of Search 114/235 R. 235 B, 236

[561 References Cited UNlTED STATES Q {TENTS 2.928.367 3/1960 McCormickl M1235 8 2,945,469 7/1960 Pulsifer ll4/235 B Primary Examiner-Trygve M.Blix Anofncyr-Ricliard S. Sciascia, Don D. Dcty and William T.

Skeet ABSTRACT: A l ydrodynamic tow system is disclosed as in;

gludinLa 10% cable means with a selectively positioned divertermechanism a! he distal end thereof. The diverter mechanism includes amovable control surface thereon and an actuation mechanismtherefor-which is connected to said tow cable and is responsive totensional variations therein to move said control surface.

5 x 72/1/61 paw/Ian PATENTED NW 9 I97! sum 2 or 3 rlllllll CONTROLLEDIJIVERSIOB APPARATUS STATEMENT OF GOVERNMENT INTEREST FIELD OF THEINVENTION The present invention relates to towing an implement throughan aqueous medium froma tr actor vehicle attached mares by a flexibletow line. More particularly. the invention relates to such a towingarrangement where theTowed object does not track directly behind thetractor vehicle but, rather. to one side thereof. Such arrangements areknown as diverted towing'arrangements. In greater particularity, theinvention relates to a diverted tow implement to be towed through water.or other fluid medium by a draft vehicle attached thereto by Tmeans of aflexible towing line.

By way of further identification of the field of the invention, but notby way of limitation, the invention pertains to a diverter useful forstreaming various implements in riverine and estuarial environmentswhich are desired to be towed so as to traverse shallow waters alongsidethe navigable portion of said watercourses. Such implements may includeseismic prospecting devices, water pollution measuring and controlimplements. and minesweeping or Burney gear.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRlOR ART The diverted towing implements of the priorart were, for the most part, of fixed configuration and the amount ofdiversion obtained therefrom was determined by such parameters as thelength and weight of the tow cable attached thereto, the angle of attackof the diverting surface, and the velocity of the tow craft. In turn,the amount of diversion produced by the div'cu'cs im lement placedlimits on the tow vehicle, particularly in speed and turning radius. lnopen sea environments these limitations are relatively easy toaccommodate in the towing operations.

In estuarial or riverine environments. however, the tow craft is forcedto come about in limits determined by the navigable channel. In suchenvironments diverted towing implement are troublesome to operate. Forwhen the speed of the towed implement drops below a predeterminedamount, the devices loses its hydrodynamic properties and sinks to thebottom to be drug therealong by the tow vehicle. Such bottom contact isgenerally ruinous to the diverter implement and gear which may becarried by the diverted tow cable. Prior art techniques have requiredthat the gear be recovered prior to such maneu- 'vers and restreamedafter completion thereof. Similarly, when overtaking another vessel inthe channel or being overtaken thereby. recovery and restreaming is alsorequired. In applications where the traversal of an entire area isrequired, as in seismic exploration, for example, diverted tows aretroublesome, time consuming, and, of course, relatively expensivebecause of the time and manpower required.

There are prior art towing implements which are steerable but allrequire additional control or power connection from the tow vehicle tothe diverted implement. One such device, for example, is described inU.S. Pat. No. 3,404,655, dated Oct. 8, i968, granted to T. Fohl, for adepth controller. These remotely steered diverted devices, while havingtheir areas of applicability, are not suited to the estuarial andriverine environments discussed above. ln such environments, impact withmooring lines, submerged. and floating objects tend to interrupt thecontrol connections, and, for these reasons, such devices have hadlimited success in estuarial and riverine environments. I

It is. therefore, an object of this invention to provide a divertermechanism overcoming the aforcdescribed disadvantages of the prior art.

Another object of the present invention is to providea divertermechanism which is particularly adapted to use 'irT riverine andestuarial environrne r t s, j f""- Another object of the presentinvention is the provision of a towed diverter having a plurality ofdiscreet positions cor responding to different amounts of hydrodynamiclift which may be selected from the towing vehicle.

'10 cable or wire,

towed diverter mechanism Yet another object of this invention is theprovision of a method and meansforrapidly altering ti e position'oftoged Still another object of this invention is the provision of ahydrodynamic lift altering mechanism for towed diverters using atension-actuated two-positionsequencing mechanism.

Another object of this invention is an improved method and moans for.permitting a tractor vessel with a diverter tow deployed tO'navigatesinuous watercourses.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages will be readilyappreciated as the subject invention becomes better understood byreference to the following detailed description, when considered inconjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS F IG. 1 is a perspective view of thesystem of the invention in use;

FIG. 2 is a front elevation of the system of the invention in useshowing the different diversion widths in greater detail;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the diverter device according to the invention;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation of the device of the invention, 1

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the sequencing control mechanism of theinvention; and

FIG. 6 is a side elevation of the sequencing control mechanism shown insection taken along line 6--6 of F K). 5.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODlHENT FlG. shqwsa tow ship ll towing ad iyert er l2 via tow cable l5. Ibw shi'TIFshowrTas a surface ship,- bmmbe understood that other tow vehicles may use the diverter system of theinvention. Such alternate tractor ships may include aircraft of both thefixed and rotary wing-type, surface effect vehicles, and submarinevehicles. Likewise, it should be understood that the illustratedembodiment uses a single diverter l2 and a single tow line 1 3 forpurposes of simplicity of explanation, and that a plurality of eithertow lines 13 or diverter: 12, or both, may be used, if desired.Similarly, vertical displacementmay be produced, if desired.

As previously described, diverter 12 is caused to occupy one of twopositions. The first, shown by solid lines, is termed the extendedposition, while the second, shown by dotted lines, is referred to as theretracted position. As may be seen at FIG. 2, the positional variationbetween the extended position and the retracted position results in twosystem widths, an extended width, EW, and a retracted width RW. Ifdesired similar vertically separated towing levels may be obtained.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the diverter according to the invention isshown in plan and side elevation. respectively, and will be describedtogether. As may be readily seen, diverter 12 resembles, in manyrespects, an aircraft, and, for this reason,

many of the pans thereof are identified by aircraft terminolo-- gy.However, one must remember that many of the parts function differentlyand for a different purpose than their aerial namesakes.

A wing 14 has a pair of struts 15 extending rearwardly therefrom tosupport a stabilizer 16. Vertical fins 17 extend vertically above andbelow stabilizer 16, An adjustable dive plate 18 is pivotally secured inthe center of stabilizer l6 to extend vertically above and below tuner16. An elevator l9 is pivotally attached to the aft cog; of stabilizer16. A crank arm 21 attaches elevator 19 to control rod 22 for actuationthereby. Control rod 22 has turnbu-zrkle 23 in the central portionthereof, for adjustably altering the effective length thereof.

The forward end of control rod 22is pivotally attached to crank arm 24(FIG. which is fixedly attached to control shaft 25. so as to turntherewith. Controi shaft 25 is turned in response to rearwardly biasedspring tension and the tension in tow line 13 which is attached totowing shacke 26.

The rearward spring tension is provided by spring 2'7 which isadjustably secured at the aft end thereof to stabilizer 16 by a tensionrod 28 and turnbuckle 29. Yoke 31, at the forward end'of spring-27, ispivotally attached to crank arms 32 which, in turn, are fixedly attachedto control shaft 25. The spring tension and towing line tension are, ofcourse, in opposition and determine the position of elevator 19 byrotation of control shaft 25 to its limiting position. The limitingpositions of shaft 25 are detemiined by sequencing mechanism'33.

Weight 34 and fixed fin 35 complete the external features of diverter12. Weight 34 is removably secured to one tip of wing N to provideballast therefor. The particular wing tip used depends on whetherdiverter 22 is to be used for port or starboard diversion. Likewise fin35 is moved to either the port or starboard diveplate mount 36 independence on whether a port or starboard diversion of tow line I3 isdesired.

F 165. 5 and 6, which together illustrate sequencing mechanism 33, willbe described together. As shown, sequencing mechanism is comprised bytwo wall portions 37 which extend vertically upward from forwardmounting 38 and aft mounting 39. Top piece 41 and fore piece 42 areintegrally secured thereto to lend rigidity to the assembly and toprevent the accumulation of waterborne trash therebetween. Wall portionsare apertured to receive control shaft 25, stop pins 43, and 45, pivotaxle 46, and toggle spring supports 47 and 48. all of which extendtransversely therethrough. Centercd between wall portions 37 and fixedlyattached to control shaft 25 bellcrank 49 is mounted. Bellcrank 49supports pawl 51 on the lower arm thereof and has an aperture 52 on theupper arm thereof adapted toreceive towing shackie 26 therein so as toconstitute a towing eye means effectively attached to wing 14. Pawl 5]is held in a predetermined angular alignment by spring 53 which extendsfrom pawl 51 forwardly to toggle spring support 47. Pawl 51 is attachedto bellcrank 49 so as to have limited pivotal movement with. respect 7thereto;

Paw! 51 cooperates with abutment member 54 to be arrested by either pawlengaging faces 55 or 56. Abutment member 54 is pivoted by pawl 51 aboutpivot axle 46 between limits defined by stop face 57 and stop 45, andstop face 58 and stop 44. Coil spring 59 is supported by toggle 48 tocooperate with abutment member 54 in an overcenter fashion to maintainthe position of abutment member 54 in the position last moved by pawl51.

Bellcranlt 49 and pawl 51 are illustrated in the position correspondingto a relaxation in tension of towing line 13. Where tension is applied,bellcrank 49 rotates control shaft 25 and carries pawl 51 rearwardly tostrike pawl engaging face 55 or 56.

Mona or OPERATION The preferred procedure used in operating the deviceof the invention may be understood by reference to the aforedescribedFIGS. Qi erter 13 is'placed in the water and ry equipment attachedthereto. For example, where the winch mechanism used the stream the gearhas a clutch. the clutch Y, may be operated to free the cable windingdrum momentarily. 5. Alternatively, the speed of tow ship ll may beabruptly slowed or stopped to cause a reduction of towline tension.

I The manner in which the variation of tension on towline 13 causes achange in diversion may be understood by reference to.FlGS-.,5 and 6.especially the latter. It will be noted that in tow cable i3 is payedout uh tila predetermined amountthereof is in the water, as shown atFlG. This amount is dependent on the desired distance astern of ship 11diverter 12 is to be towed. With tow ship ll underway, the position ofdiverter l2 is observed visually. Sometimes, a float, not shown. istowed on a short lanyard attached to diver ter 12 50 as to floatthereabove and aid in the observation of the position thereofwhcrilateral diversion is used.

when it is desired to change the posi ion ofdi erter .2 from theextended to the retracted position, or vice versa, the tensionin towlinei3 is momentarily reduced. The reduction in tension of towline 13 may beaccomplished in a variety of ways. and the particular method used willdepend to some ex the position illustrated, pawl 51 is disengaged fromabutment member 54 and abutment member is positioned such that stop pin45 is in engagement with stop face 57. As tension is applied, the upperend of bellcrank 49 is carried forward. carrymg the lower end thereof,carrying pawl 5! therewith, is

lib/ed aft, This action rotates shaft 25 against the spring tensionsupplied by spring 27 (FIG. 3) via crank arms 32 and car ries crank arm24 therewith.

Because abutment member is positioned against stop pin 45, pawl 51misses'pawl engaging face 55 and continues in a upward and abaftdirection until it encounters pawl engaging face 56. Pawl 51 rotatesabutment member 54 against the detent spring action provided by coilspring 59 so as toplace stop face 58 in contact with stop pin 44.Further forward motion of the upper arm of bellcrank 49 is terminated bythe stop pin 44.

The rotation of control shaft 25 carries arm 24 forward. and, as bestshown in FIG. 4, moves control rod 22 forward so as to raise elevator 19to its illustrated position corresponding to the retracted position ofdiverter l2. Turnbucltle 23 may be v adjusted to provide the desiredlimiting positions of elevator 19. Similarly, turnbuckle 29 may beadjusted to tension spring 27 to the desired. value/The tension ofspring 27 should be strong enough to prevent flutter-caused chatter ofsequencing mechanism 33, but not so strong as to preclude easysequencing by tensional variation in tow line 13.

To more diverter 12 to the extended position from the retractedposition, the tension of towiine i3 is again momentarily reduced. Duringthe absence of towing line tension spring 27 moves crank arms 32 abaftto move pawl 5! forward so as to disengage it from abutment member 54.Spring 59 holds abutment member in contact with stop pin 44. in thistively further aft and, consequently, the angle of attack of wing 14 isaltered and elevator 19 is in alignment with stabilizer 16. In thisposition wing 14 produces a maximum of hydrodynamic lift and diverter 12moves to the extended posi' tlon.

The operation may be repeated as often as desired to move diverter 12from one position to the other. When using a clutch control on a winchto effect the desired tension adjustment of towline 13, an amount ofline 13 is payed out during each tension adjustment thereof. This excessmay be recovered by slowly winding the line inboard to repositiondiverter 12 at the desired distance astem tow ship 1!.

The foregoing description taken together with the appended claimsconstitute a disclosure such as to enable a person skilled in the marineengineering and naval architecture arts and having the benefit of theteaching contained therein to make and use the invention. Further, thestructure herein described meets the objects of invention, and gcnerailyconstitutes a meritorious advance in the art unobvious to such a skilledworker not having the benefit of the teachings con tained herein.

Obviously, other embodiments and modifications of the subject inventionwill readily come .21: .:.:nd of one skilled in 2b; art having thebenefit of iii: teachings presented in the foregoing description and thedrawings. it is, therefore, to be understood that-this invention is notto be limited thereto and that said modifications and embodiments areintended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is: l. A diverter assembly for laterally displacing atowing ling attached t..ereto as it towed through lluid iamcommama-(immanent f V wing r1'\eans for producing hydrodynamic forces:towing eye means attached to said wing means for joining said towingline thereto: stabilizer means for minimizing uncontrolled pitching ofsaid diverter-asembly: t strut means attached to said stabilizer meansand said wing means for maintaining a predetermined relationshiptherebetween: ballast means attached to one extremity of said wing meansfor angularly orienting said wing means with respect to the horizontal:fin means attached to said wing means and extending vertically upwardlytherefrom for control of the position of said diverter: elevator meanshingedly attached to the aft edge of said stabilizer means foradjustably altering the angular orientation of said wing means as saiddiverter is towed through said fluid medium, so as to alter thehydrodynamic forces produced thereby: and 7 control means effectivelyconnected between said elevator means and said towing eye means forvarying the position of said elevator means in response to tensionalforces applied to said towing means.-

2. A diverter assembly according to claim I wherein said strut meansholds said stabilizer means parallel to said wing means and spaced abaftthereof. 7

3. A diverter assembly according to claim I wherein said fin means isremovably mounted on said wing means in predetermined relationship withsaid ballast means.

4. A diverter assembly according to claim 1 in which said control whichfurther comprises in combination;

55st crank arm means attached to said elevator means for movementthereof;

control shaft means for rotation in response to predetermined tensionalvariations in tensional forces applied to said towing eye means;

second crank arm means attached to said control shaft means for arcuatemovement thereby; and control rod means connected between-said first andsecond crank arm means for transmitting motion therebetween.

5. A diverter assembly according to claim 4 in which said control rodmeans comprises two sections joined by a threaded member for'adjustablyvarying thereof.

5.. A diverter asset-obi, according to claim 4 in which said controlmeans further comprises:

the effective length 5 bellcranlt means formed integrally with saidtowing eye and fixedly attached to said control shaft for impartingtoraft movement thereby; and abutment means positioned to arrest therearward movement of said pawl means for determining the'rotationalposition of the aforesaid control shaft. 7 8. A diverter assemblyaccording to claim 7 further com- 25 prising:

a first pawl engagement with said pawl in order to arrest its motion ina first position;

a second pawl engaging face extending extending outwardly from saidabutment means for engagement with said pawl in order to arrest itsmotion in a second position; and

pivot axle means passing through said abutment means for pivotal supportthereof.

9. A diverter assembly according to claim 8vfurther com prising:

first stop means positioned with respect to the aforesaid abutmentsmeans so as to arrest its pivotal movement for positioning the firstpawl engaging face in the pathway of .said pawl movement; and

second stop means positioned with respect to the aforesaid abutmentmeans so as to arrest its pivotal movement for positioning the secondpawl engaging face in the pathway of said pawl movement.

10. A diverter assembly according to claim 9 further com prising springholding means for holding the aforesaid abut 5 ment member in contactwith one of said stop means when said pawl is out of engagementtherewith.

i i i Q pawl means attached to said bellcrank means for fore and

1. A diverter assembly for laterally displacing a towing line attachedthereto as it is towed through a fluid medium comprising in combination:wing means for producing hydrodynamic forces; towing eye means attachedto said wing means for joining said towing line thereto; stabilizermeans for minimizing uncontrolled pitching of said diverter assembly;strut means attached to said stabilizer means and said wing means formaintaining a predetermined relationship therebetween; ballast meansattached to one extremity of said wing means for angularly orientingsaid wing means with respect to the horizontal; fin means attached tosaid wing means and extending vertically upwardly therefrom for controlof the position of said diverter; elevator means hingedly attached tothe aft edge of said stabilizer means for adjustably altering theangular orientation of said wing means as said diverter is towed throughsaid fluid medium, so as to alter the hydrodynamic forces producedthereby; and control means effectively connected between said elevatormeans and said towing eye means for varying the position of saidelevator means in response to tensional forces applied to said towingeye means.
 2. A diverter assembly according to claim 1 wherein saidstrut means holds said stabilizer means parallel to said wing means andspaced abaft thereof.
 3. A diverter assembly according to claim 1wherein said fin means is removably mounted on said wing means inpredetermined relationship with said ballast means.
 4. A diverterassembly according to claim 1 in which said control means furthercomprises in combination: first crank arm means attached to saidelevator means for movement thereof; control shaft means for rotation inresponse to predetermined tensional variations in tensional forcesapplied to said towing eye means; second crank arm means attached tosaid control shaft means for arcuate movement thereby; and control rodmeans connected between said first and second crank arm means fortransmitting motion therebetween.
 5. A diverter assembly according toclaim 4 in which said control rod means comprises two sections joined bya threaded member for adjustably varying the effective length thereof.6. A diverter assembly according to claim 4 in which said control meansfurther comprises: bellcrank means formed integrally with said towingeye and fixedly attached to said control shaft for imparting torsionalforces thereto in response to tensional variations applied thereto;third crank arm means attached to said control shaft means for impartingtorsional movement thereto; spring means connected at one end to saidthird crank arm means and at said other end to the aforesaid stabilizermeans for applying a Torsional force to said control shaft opposed tothat applied by said bellcrank means; and adjustment means effectivelyconnected to said spring means for altering the tension thereof.
 7. Adiverter assembly according to claim 6 further comprising: pawl meansattached to said bellcrank means for fore and aft movement thereby; andabutment means positioned to arrest the rearward movement of said pawlmeans for determining the rotational position of the aforesaid controlshaft.
 8. A diverter assembly according to claim 7 further comprising: afirst pawl engaging face extending outwardly from said abutment meansfor engagement with said pawl in order to arrest its motion in a firstposition; a second pawl engaging face extending outwardly from saidabutment means for engagement with said pawl in order to arrest itsmotion in a second position; and pivot axle means passing through saidabutment means for pivotal support thereof.
 9. A diverter assemblyaccording to claim 8 further comprising: first stop means positionedwith respect to the aforesaid abutment means so as to arrest its pivotalmovement for positioning the first pawl engaging face in the pathway ofsaid pawl movement; and second stop means positioned with respect to theaforesaid abutment means so as to arrest its pivotal movement forpositioning the second pawl engaging face in the pathway of said pawlmovement.
 10. A diverter assembly according to claim 9 furthercomprising spring holding means for holding the aforesaid abutmentmember in contact with one of said stop means when said pawl is out ofengagement therewith.